


Green Hills, Clear Skies

by orphan_account



Series: prompt fills 2018 [1]
Category: Justice League (2017), Justice League - All Media Types, Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Warnings on the inside, Wow, as always, can't believe i'm actually posting something on the first day of 2018 my time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-17 13:59:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13078350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “When Diana first invites him to visit Themyscira, Barry is excited. Enthusiastic. Ecstatic, even. He spouts off questions faster than Diana can follow before his brain catches up with the implications of the question and his eagerness suddenly takes a dive into the deep end of the pool, where it remembers that it can't swim and- anyways. He asks, "Wait, isn't there, like, a total ban against all guys there?"Diana hesitates, which should've been Barry's first clue that this was maybe not going to be all he imagined. Then she smiles in that way she has that makes you sayyes, I should trust Diana, she'd never do anything that would plant me on an island full of warrior women- most of which hate me- and then have me stay there for an entire week while I wait for everything to go from bad to worse.“





	Green Hills, Clear Skies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tamuril2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamuril2/gifts).



> EDIT: I FORGOT TO PUT A SUMMARY
> 
> warnings: implied/referenced past slavery (of the Amazons) and some of the stuff that entailed (nothing sexual, though); a scene where a character performs CPR and has to tear open a women's shirt to apply a shock (again, it's not sexual and it's not in extreme detail or anything); mentions of canonical character death.
> 
> basically talks about the canonical past of the Amazons as talked about in the Wonder Woman movie.

When Diana first invites him to visit Themyscira, Barry is excited. Enthusiastic. Ecstatic, even. He spouts off questions faster than Diana can follow before his brain catches up with the implications of the question and his eagerness suddenly takes a dive into the deep end of the pool, where it remembers that it can't swim and- anyways. He asks, "Wait, isn't there, like, a total ban against all guys there?"

Diana hesitates, which should've been Barry's first clue that this was maybe not going to be all he imagined. Then she smiles in that way she has that makes you say  _yes, I should trust Diana, she'd never do anything that would plant me on an island full of warrior women- most of which hate me- and then have me stay there for an entire week while I wait for everything to go from bad to worse._

"Well, yes, but I am trying to show my mother that not all men are bad, and she has agreed to let me bring one man to the island to try to do so." And Barry, full of daydreams of a magical island that disappears from sight- and, like, what is the science behind that? Is it some type of reflection technology? Something that makes them invisible to radar?- agrees. Just like that. As he turns to go pack, he misses the look that Bruce shoots Diana.

("Really?" Bruce asks Diana later. "You're sure about this?"

Diana frowns. "Can you think of someone else that would do a better job convincing my mother that not all men are evil?"

Bruce hesitates. "Well, no," he admits. "And I do think this is a good idea. Just- you know Barry's past."

Diana nods, suddenly looking more solemn. "Yes. And I will not let any harm come to Barry while he is in my home."

Bruce looks satisfied. "Good. Also- maybe just keep on eye on him in general? He doesn't exactly-" 

"Have the best filter for his mouth?" Diana cuts him off, tone amused. "I will."

Bruce leaves it at that, happy in the knowledge that he will not have an international incident on his hands because Barry asked a question about brunch and was misunderstood by a race of warrior women that could do some real damage to multiple nations' armies,)

* * *

When they actually reach the island, it's very exciting for Barry- and Diana as well, he decides, watching all the hugging going on between her and her (sisters? Friends?) fellow warriors. While she greets the Themisciryans, yet another intimidating women that looks like she could pound Barry into the ground without much effort sideyes him with obvious hostility. 

Barry begins to wonder if this is really as good an idea as he has been led to believe. 

Diana spins to look behind him, and Barry follows suit. When he sees the woman behind him- obviously royalty, given the way she carries herself, the crown, the fancy sword she's carrying, everything about her, really- he wishes that he had worn a suit or even his Flash costume, or anything other than the simple blue shirt and flannel jacket and nice-ish jeans he's got on right now. He's never felt so underdressed in his life.

("What should I wear," He'd asked Bruce before he left. "I don't want to be underdressed," he'd added.

Bruce had looked thoughtful, and then, with all seriousness, said "What are the nicest clothes you have that you didn't rent?" 

Barry had hesitated, and Bruce- because somehow, even after years of dressing up as a bat, the man was still getting fashion questions even though he paid people (Alfred) to buy his clothes for him so that everything in his closet was stylish and other people _had to know that at this point_ \- had said, "Just wear that." 

Bruce had apparently forgotten that Barry did not exactly have a lot of money to buy fashion-forward clothes and was also a teenage boy, and as such tended to live in pajamas, sweatpants, and old t-shirts, and that his idea of dressing nice was his work clothes, which were maybe not quite suitable for meeting royalty.

Barry did not realize that Bruce had forgotten this until he was standing in front of a queen dressed in what some would call "hiking clothes," and others would call "leisure clothes," and queens would almost definitely call "rags that most certainly belong in the trash and only faintly resemble clothes."

Barry was going to have Words with Bruce when he got back- if he did, in fact, get back without dying of embarrassment.)

Diana runs to the woman and hugs her. The woman hugs back, and Barry can hear a whispered, "I'm so glad to see you, my dear." 

Diana replies, "And I you, mother."

They stay like that a moment, wrapped in each other's arms, and Barry's suddenly reminded of all the dreams he's had where his mother is back and she hugs him like that. Where he's not alone, where his family is back together again, whole and complete and happy.

Then the woman turns to Barry, and he's almost glad for the thunderous expression on her face, because it means he's distracted from his thoughts. Her next words make him even more distracted. "Who is this, Diana?"

The phrase is harmless, but the woman's eyes are burning holes right through him. He opens his mouth to speak, but Diana hastily shakes her head at him and he takes the hint and stays silent, uncomfortably aware that he's the center of attention, as Diana speaks. "This is the man that I told you I was bringing, mother. You agreed to let him come so that I might show you that mankind has changed, that some men are good."

And put like that, Barry suddenly feels very, very inadequate. Why is he here, why is he the one trying to convince the Amazons of this?

Hippolyta- because if she's Diana's mother, that's who she has to be- speaks again, and this time, she doesn't sound as much like she wants to immediately kill Barry where he stands and more like she's just implying that she'll kill him if he puts a foot out of line. "Ah, yes. I was expecting someone- else."

And Barry can hear, in her slight hesitation before she says the last word, what's implied there. That she was expecting someone larger, someone fiercer looking, someone more obviously a warrior, a hero. Someone like Bruce or Clark, maybe, or even Victor. 

(Barry'd say Arthur, but even he can see why that would be a bad idea. The older man may be more physically intimidating and probably fits Diana's mom's expectations a bit more, but finesse and diplomacy are not among his many talents. Barry might be awkward and clumsy and unsure of himself more often than not, but at least he knows when to talk and when to shut up.)

Diana replies, her voice a bit sharper than it was a moment ago. "Barry is the one I have chosen."

Her mom smiles. "I know, my child. I was not implying that you should have chosen differently."

Barry's beginning to feel awkward. It's a strange feeling, being talked about like he isn't there. He shifts, and immediately, there's three swords at his throat, a spear resting at the small of his back, and he's pretty sure a couple other Amazons have arrows pointed at him. He freezes, hands held slightly away from his sides.

Diana glances over at him and rolls her eyes. Barry's almost a little offended, because this does not feel like a situation where one would roll their eyes, not at  _all._ Diana turns to her mother and murmurs something too soft for Barry to hear, and then Hippolyta says, "Airla, Aglea, Eleni, please show our guest to his quarters. Diana and I have much to discuss before the evening meal."

Then she turns to Barry and says, "My daughter has informed us of your powers. Refrain from using them while on our island."

She doesn't even wait for an answer, just turns away, Diana following her after shooting Barry an apologetic glance. Three Amazons step forward, and the various weapons pointed at Barry are returned to their sheaths and quivers. 

Barry watches as Diana and her mom walk towards a large building. 

He suddenly feels very alone.

* * *

The rest of the day passes quietly. Barry's shown to his rooms, and told that he will be fetched when it's time for the evening meal, which Barry mentally translates to mean dinnertime. 

(He's not explicitly told to stay where he's been put, but it's heavily implied, and Barry might not be the best at picking up  _context clues_ or  _inferred information_ , but he can tell when he's not wanted, has been able to do that for years, and this is definitely one of those situations.)

He stays, even though after twenty minutes he's starting to go out of his mind with boredom, and when he's taken to the dinner table, he tries not to eat too much. 

The rest of the week passes in much the same way, except Barry's allowed to explore the island, though he's told in no uncertain terms not to go near the giant temple. He obeys, and within three days he's seen as much of the island as he's allowed to see. 

It's also been a very quiet three days, since Diana's only been able to see him for around an hour every day. She's busy with other things, and none of the other Amazons want to talk to him.

(He spends a lot of time thinking about the fact that he took a week and a half off from work for this, that he used up most of his vacation days to come here and be ignored by beautiful women. He can do that at home without taking any days off from work.

Sometimes he thinks that if Arthur were here, he'd tell Barry that he should be trying to hit on these women, but Barry's not really looking for a relationship right now, and he's never been one to really like the idea of one night stands. He doesn't think he'd ever have a connection with someone and then willingly leave them.

He's lost too many people already. 

Also, even if he was looking for something, he's pretty sure any and all of the Amazons would kill him if he so much as thought something indecent about any of them, which, fair.)

On the sixth day that he's been here everything goes downhill rather rapidly. 

* * *

It starts when an Amazon finds him as he's examining some old ruins. She gives him a disdainful look- and  _wow_ , Barry has always been a little iffy on how exactly someone could give a  _disdainful_ look, like, in real life versus a book, but now he knows- and informs him that the queen is coming. And then she walks away, leaving Barry standing there confused.

(What is he supposed to do? Leave? Stay here? If he had more information, he might know what to do, and, okay, maybe a  _little_ of this is his frustration on basically being left alone for five days because Diana has duties and catching up to do, and all of the Amazons hate him, and he hasn't been able to just  _run_ for five days, which is not a good combination.

So maybe he's going a little stir crazy. So sue him. Or, actually, don't, because he doesn't have much that much money to give to people who wouldn't even use it, and he'd probably have to show up in court in inappropriate clothes because someone that he trusted to give him advice on what to wear would tell him to wear whatever he had, thanks  _Bruce_.

Anyways.)

Barry decides to stay and see the queen, because at least if they tell him to go away, it'll be  _human interaction_ , which is something he hasn't had much of for a very long almost-week.

He watches as Hippolyta and a group of Amazons crest the hill, talking and laughing- at least until they catch sight of him. Then they stop, and one of the Amazons steps forward. Barry recognizes her as Aglea, one of the Amazons that the queen assigned to take him to his quarters on that first day. She's frowning and rubbing at her chest, but she looks intimidating all the same.

That is, until she collapses and starts convulsing on the ground. She's gasping, loud, drawn out, irregular breaths that are painful to listen to. 

There's a moment of shock, and then Barry's mind catches up to the situation. He knows the signs of a heart attack, and this woman is exhibiting all of them. He turns to Hippolyta and blurts out, "Heart attack. Let me help her, please. I know what to do." 

She hesitates, then nods. Barry falls to his knees beside the woman and briefly feels for a pulse. There is none, and, vaguely, he remembers that the ragged gasps of air she's taking in must be agonal gasps. 

He begins chest compressions. He feels her ribs break, and, though he winces, he knows that it is a good thing. It means he's pressing down hard enough. 

In the back of his mind, he registers Hippolyta calling for a healer. He continues on. 

He finishes five cycles and checks her pulse again.

There's still nothing, and the healer has yet to arrive.

Barry knows what he has to do. He finds Hippolyta's eyes, and yells, "Get everyone clear."

Wonder of wonders, she listens. Barry knows he has to act fast, because he doesn't know how long the Amazons will give him once they see what he's doing.

He tears open Aglea's shirt and marks the spots with his eyes where he needs to position his hands- one over the top right of her chest, one over the bottom left of her side. 

Then he moves. He moves his hands through the air fast enough to draw on the speed force- and, incidentally, the electricity that comes from the speed force. He slams his hands down, and Aglea's body jerks with the shock.

Immediately, he's tackled by a very angry Amazon and is being menaced with swords by two others. The one pinning him and holding a dagger like she's about to stab him shouts, "What did you do? What?"

Barry holds his arms in front of his face and is pretty sure he's going to die. Before he can explain, though, Aglea gasps- a real, true breath- and coughs raggedly, then starts to breath normally. She's still trembling, she's mostly unconscious and probably in a lot of pain, but she's alive.

The Amazon puts away her dagger and reluctantly removes her knee from Barry's chest. He cautiously sits up, but when the other two Amazons move their swords a little closer to his throat, he stays there. 

The healer chooses that moment to arrive, as does Diana. The healer takes one look at Aglea, then barks orders to some of the Amazons that are watching. They move quickly and efficiently, and soon they're carrying Aglea to the infirmary in a makeshift stretcher. 

Hippolyta looks grave as she watches them go. "Strange," she murmurs to herself. "This has not happened before." Then she turns towards Barry and says, "Barry Allen-"

Barry runs. He's not sure what the queen wants with him, but it can't be good, not after that. She's probably going to accuse him of, like, trying to kill one of her warriors or something. Maybe if he can get far enough away, though, Diana can explain to her that he was just trying to help, and then-

He skids to a stop at the edge of a cliff. What is he doing? Running's just going to make him look worse, will just convince the Amazons that he was actually trying to do something bad. 

Besides, he'd tired of running from his problems. It's time to face them and whatever the consequences are, time to let Diana know what he really thinks about this plan, time to face her inevitable disappointment in him.

He sits on the edge of the cliff and waits.

* * *

It's somewhere close to three hours before Diana shows. He's still on the edge of the cliff, gazing out over the water. She approaches, and he readies himself, knowing that he has to say what he needs to say before she can start talking to him about anything else, because otherwise he'll lose his nerve.

Barry starts talking as soon as Diana sits down next to him. He can barely see her in his peripheral vision, but, vaguely he registers that her hair seems lighter than normal. He ignores it, though, determined to say his piece and get it over with. "Look, Diana, I'm really honored that you thought I could come here and, I don't know, change your sisters' minds- are they your sisters? Because, no offense, but some of them have, like, no resemblance to you at all, and- okay, nevermind, not important. Anyway, I just don't think this was a good idea.

"Because every time I talk to someone I think I'm just making them hate me more and, okay, you wanted me to convince everyone that men are good? Because, no offense-" he lets out a bitter laugh, feeling worse as he goes on, because he's sure that Diana knows all of this already, has just been waiting for a good time to say it, because she's considerate like that. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure I'm, like, the absolute worst person for that job.

"I mean, I'm kind of a mess. Just- I don't know. Sorry for letting you down, I guess."

Barry finally looks over at the woman sitting next to him, and his eyes immediately widen in horror.

It is most definitely _not_ Diana next to him- and who just listened to his entire spiel. He scrambles to his feet, words spilling from his mouth in panic. "Oh sh- uh, I'm sorry, so sorry, your Majesty- is that even the right- uh, never mind, again, I am so, so-"

Hippolyta- Queen of the frickin' Amazons- laughs as she motions for him to sit down again. Barry eyes her warily, because he's pretty sure that you're not supposed to sit in the presence of royalty, but after a moment, he complies. After all, he reasons to himself, she did invite him to sit, so if it is, say, a breach of decorum or something, then it's not his fault, right?

Barry realizes that he's been lost in his own headspace for too long when the Queen nudges him, obviously waiting for an answer to a question. "Um-"

The queen smiles kindly and repeats her question. "You said that you did not feel that you were a good person for this job of changing our minds. Why?"

Barry stares at her for a moment before replying. "I mean, you know, I'm just  _not_. _"_

"Why not?"

Barry can't even come up with a real response to that. It should be obvious. It's not like he's completely worthless or anything, but he's just- he's not someone you give huge responsibilities to, not someone you want to be a pivotal part of the plan, of any plan. It's a given, a fact of the world, like how Bruce makes terrible dad jokes and Clark says "y'all" sometimes and Diana's amazing at everything she tries except  dusting fans and Victor sometimes says he needs an oil can with such a straight face that Barry never knows if he's joking or not and Arthur throws blankets at him whenever they're in the cave and Barry feels cold because the guy can somehow always tell.

But he thinks about it, and he can't phrase it, so he settles for waving his hands around a bit and saying, "It, just, y'know, that's the way it  _is_."

And Hippolyta smiles, and she says, "Before you came here, only one other man had ever been on this island without attacking it. That man was Steve Trevor, a- friend of my daughter's. He died bravely in combat, but his sacrifice was not enough to convince us. We thought he was an anomaly, someone that had somehow resisted the ways of men."

She pauses, lost in thought, and Barry doesn't know where this is going, but he waits. He realizes that he feels- not at peace, not yet, but calmer than normal. Calmer than he has felt in a long time. It's something about the way Hippolyta talks, the rhythm of her voice, and her presence that calms Barry.

It reminds him of his mother. 

The woman continues. "You have conducted yourself admirably, Barry Allen. You do not try and seduce my warriors, instead respecting our chosen way of life. You do not strike out in anger or frustration, and you are thoughtful. You do not scoff at us- at women- for learning warfare or reading or writing. You saved Aglea's life. 

"Diana has told me that she thought you were the best representation of the way mankind has changed, and that her other friends exemplify some of the same traits that you do, to different degrees. I will admit that I was surprised when I first saw you, but this is a new age, and warriors are not always muscle-bound men with egos larger than a house." 

Barry thinks about that while the queen pauses, and has to agree. Some of the bravest people he's known don't fit the typical "warrior" build or mentality or aren't even men at all. 

Times have changed and continue to change, and it might be for the worse sometimes, most times, but sometimes it's for the better and those times are what count, are what need to be held and treasured and remembered when everything else seems to be falling apart.

"This island has always been a safe refuge for women and women alone, and it will stay that way, but I no longer fear that if we were discovered, we would have to fight off an entire race that would seek to enslave us once again. And, should the time ever come where it was necessary, we would be willing to help defend mankind. Thank you, Barry Allen, for helping to put my mind at rest."

At that, Hippolyta seems to have finished talking, and Barry is silent as well, thinking over what the older woman has said. A breeze blows in from the sea, and silence, broken only by the sounds of the sea and the wind, envelops them. Somewhere, a bird calls out, then falls silent. The tranquility will not last and soon, Barry knows, he will have to return to his normal life.

For now, though, everything is peaceful.

**Author's Note:**

> so i told myself i would finish this today and then i spent forever avoiding it, but here it is. i enjoyed playing with the Wonder Woman characters, and examining how i thought Hippolyta would react to this situation. also, the section where bruce tells barry what to wear is literally one of the funniest things i've ever written, imo.
> 
> thanks to Tamuril2 for prompting me to write this!
> 
> happy start of 2018 to everyone, and i hope that this your best year yet!


End file.
